300th Anniversary of the Demise of Blackbeard
Today, 22 November 2018, is the 300th anniversary of one of the most historical “battles” to have ever occurred in North Carolina. While certainly not of the same magnitude of Guilford Courthouse or Bentonville, the ultimate demise of Blackbeard the Pirate came to pass in Ocracoke Inlet on November 22nd of 1718.
Given the perpetual interest regarding pirates in general (and Blackbeard in particular), the Richmond Observer offers a series of articles chronicling the life and times of arguably the most recognized (if not indeed the most nefarious) pirate of all time. This is Part VII of the saga.
Blackbeard Part VII: The Good Life Proves Not Good Enough
Having “retired” and taken a young bride in the process, Blackbeard appeared to be enjoying the good life. With the wealth that he had accumulated effectively safe and secure, protected from seizure by virtue of the king’s pardon for any pirating that he may have done, Edward Drummond/Teach/Blackbeard had only to relax and rest on his laurels of adventures past.
But Blackbeard was not made for the domesticated life. Almost immediately frustrated with his new wife (an unsubstantiated tale is that he offered her to his crew after a quarrel) and uneasy in his newfound role as “Mr. Teach of Bath,” the pirate-turned-citizen was about to flip another page in the story of his short but eventful life.
The months of July and August saw Blackbeard constantly moving between his home at Plum Point on the eastern side of Bath Creek and his sloop anchored at Ocracoke. Governor Eden had granted him free title to the ship which Teach renamed “Adventure” and the old pirate was once again on the high seas plying his trade.
Of course, he did not admit to such an activity. Upon bringing a French ship back into Ocracoke Inlet, Blackbeard “explained” that, while conducting legitimate trade business, he had happened upon this boat floating freely on the ocean, with no sign of any crew members at all. A Vice Admiralty Court was convened but, as it was presided over by Tobias Knight, the verdict was a foregone conclusion: the ship was adjudged to be a “derelict at sea” and its cargo was the rightful property of business merchant Edward Teach.
So Blackbeard continued with his pirating to the point where the governors of both Pennsylvania and Virginia had beseeched North Carolina Governor Eden to put a stop to it. Of course, this put Eden in an awkward position, so he did nothing. The same would not be the case for Virginia Governor Alexander Spotswood, especially after receiving a direct plea from North Carolina representatives in October.
